Produced by the Williamson and Musgrove firm, this 1902 version of the popular pantomime story was typical of the big-budget productions staged in Australia over the previous decade or so. Although the Age critic suggests that it fell short of the 'remote and unattainable [pantomime] ideal', it was still regarded as a 'more than creditable production of its class' (27 December 1902, p.10).
In relation to the 'book', the same paper records:
'There were some novel and interesting features... [which] served as a useful thread for fixing together the varied portions of an elaborate piece of stage work ... Witticisms of well-known origin and jokes of venerable antiquity were ruthlessly cut down, and the result was that both songs and dialogues were original and very slightly reminiscent of anything that had been staged before. There was plenty of topical business, and it was perhaps, inevitable that Mr Bent's railways and Mr Shield's budget and the Prime Minister's 'Six Hatters' should find themselves memorialised before the footlights' (p.10).
The music was reportedly tuneful and inspiriting 'though not quite as catchy as has been heard in some previous pantomimes'. Highlights of the production were said to be the 'Popinjays' and 20th Century Girls' ballets and the scenic sensation 'The Phantom Guards', all of which were 'invented, written and arranged' by the director, Barney Fagen (Age 27 Dec. 1902, p.10).
